Nearly a dozen Manitoba conservation officers are now patrolling along the Canada-United States border in the province and acting as another set of eyes and ears, supporting the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) as they amp up their own enforcement of the international boundary.
The COs, stationed out of Virden, Boissevain, Manitou, Winnipeg, Steinbach and Sprague began conducting border patrols as part of their work just a few weeks ago. Those patrols are happening between ports of entry, focusing on secondary roads and backcountry areas. The province has also invested in equipment such as snowmobiles, utility terrain vehicles and helicopters to support the conservation service in its work to patrol the border.
Speaking on The Post Road (PR 243) Monday morning, Premier Wab Kinew reiterated his government's commitment to increase support and border security measures. The Province announced the plan in December in hopes it would not only address concerns expressed, at the time, by the United States and help protect Manitoba's economy, but also aid in any humanitarian efforts to rescue people.
"Now, this is something that's a big priority for people here in the province because we want to have safe communities," said the Premier.
"If we were to go to Gretna or Altona or Emerson or any community in the area, people will tell you that they want to have a secure border," he added. "But they'll also tell you that they have a humanitarian heart for some of those very, very difficult situations that we heard of, whether recently, people traveling north or in the past few years, people traveling south."
Kinew cited the tragic end of the Patel family 2022, who froze to death trying to cross border heading south, and the recent report of half-a-dozen people intercepted travelling north from the U.S. into Canada who, according to reports, were ill-dressed for the harsh winter elements.
However, when it comes to any potential criminal activity, like drug trafficking, happening at the border, the Premier was quick to note the COs wouldn't be crossing any existing lines of authority, respecting RCMP and CBSA jurisdiction.
"What we're asking our officers here to do is to just feed that information and to be that eyes and ears, to help and be part of a coordinated response to secure the border," said Kinew.
Also, as a part of his government's border security plan, the Premier noted they have invested $460,000 in covering, primarily, overtime for Manitoba RCMP officers. In addition, motor carrier enforcement officials have begun patrolling roads and highways near the American border.